Pokemon Go has a rather vague radar. If you tap the box on the bottom right side of the screen, you can see up to nine Pokemon in your immediate vicinity. Depending on how far away they are, you can see zero to three footsteps beneath them. This indicates how close or far they are, as does their position in the list. At least it should, but Pokemon Go is broken and the radar is completely messed up.
Check any forum or group and you’ll see the complaints. Every Pokemon now shows as being three steps away. After extensive testing and playing, I can confirm that their positions in the list may shift, but the radar isn’t providing accurate information as to their location. For example, the Pokemon Go screenshot above showed the park near my home. Each one has three footsteps below it. While the Krabby, Pidgey, and Venonat appeared in the top row, the Ratata and Eevee were the Pokemon right in front of me. A Magnemite wasn’t shown in the list, but appeared after taking a few steps. This Pokemon Go glitch makes proper hunting nearly impossible.
Naturally, Niantic hasn’t offered any update on this glitch. Which is a shame, because it’s one of the many things that’s ruining the Pokemon Go experience for players. Here’s hoping an update comes through in the next few things that improves the radar.